Undersea Manufacturing Ecosystem Taking Shape In Groton

ThayerMahan Inc. is an undersea tech startup that opened in early 2016 in a small Mystic office and upgraded to a larger facility in Groton this past fall. They are developing a system called Outpost, an unmanned, robotic vessel that glides along the surface of the water and tows sonar equipment, that can perform low-level missions at a fraction of the cost of a submarine.

ThayerMahan Inc. is an undersea tech startup that opened in early 2016 in a small Mystic office and upgraded to a larger facility in Groton this past fall. They are developing a system called Outpost, an unmanned, robotic vessel that glides along the surface of the water and tows sonar equipment, that can perform low-level missions at a fraction of the cost of a submarine.

In a warehouse between the Poquonnock River and Groton’s Army National Guard base, engineers tinker with a vessel worn and weathered from months at sea.

It’s a Wave Glider, an unmanned craft the shape of a surfboard and equipped with artificial intelligence and sonar sensors that trail along 20 feet underwater. Called the Outpost system, this new-age vehicle developed by year-old startup ThayerMahan is an example of the changing industry of undersea warfare, once the exclusive domain of submarine builders like General Dynamics Electric Boat, headquartered just two miles away.

ThayerMahan also represents opportunity for Connecticut, as the state works to boost and organize an undersea warfare ecosystem that’s long lagged behind its robust aerospace community.

The Thames River Innovation Place, an initiative by the state’s innovation support entity CTNext, is forming Connecticut’s first network of parts makers for undersea technologies.

TRIP director David McBride says the consortium of component manufacturers should enhance the state’s global competitiveness by helping members improve quality, reduce costs and promote innovation.

Leaders hope member companies will share and benefit from each others’ best practices and connect with the region’s undersea warfare resources.

ThayerMahan President and CEO Mike Connor says the time is right for the state to seize on the opportunities of new startups and fast-changing technologies.

“When there’s an industry in transition, if you don’t latch onto the part of the industry that is growing, you may find yourself trying to hang on to the piece that is declining,” Connor said. “The new economy is one in which new technologies take hold, they bubble up for a few years and then get replaced by the next thing that comes down the pike.”

Cloe Poisson / Hartford Courant

Michael Connor, co-founder and CEO of ThayerMahan Inc., an undersea tech startup that opened in early 2016 and upgraded to a larger facility in Groton this past fall. John Russ, Director of Maritime Operations, Rich Hine, co-founder and COO, and Jason Combs, security manager.

Michael Connor, co-founder and CEO of ThayerMahan Inc., an undersea tech startup that opened in early 2016 and upgraded to a larger facility in Groton this past fall. John Russ, Director of Maritime Operations, Rich Hine, co-founder and COO, and Jason Combs, security manager. (Cloe Poisson / Hartford Courant)

Following The Aerospace Example

The backbone of the network will take shape early this year based on the model of Rocky Hill-based member organization Aerospace Component Manufacturers.

ACM members say communication among the cluster of 140 small- and medium-sized businesses has been instrumental in growing the state’s aerospace industry, one of the strongest in the country.

In comparison, the growth of the undersea industry beyond Electric Boat has been sluggish.

“I don’t think it would be that difficult to believe we have missed opportunities,” said Paige Bronk, Groton’s manager of economic and community development. “If someone’s interested in launching some new startup and they Google where the hotbed is, Connecticut’s not on the map.”

The new network should help companies expand into new areas, apply for federal funding, attract and train employers, and collaborate with colleges to solve problems.

That’s how the ACM has operated, members say. The network was founded by a handful of companies in 1999, at a time when aerospace jobs were down and components manufacturers felt threatened by oversea competition and relied heavily on Pratt & Whitney.

The 140 current member companies meet regularly around four main themes — business development, progressive manufacturing, workforce development and purchasing — to think strategically and see how other companies handle challenges and opportunities, says Chris DiPentima, president of Pegasus Manufacturing and a former ACM board member.

It works because members are willing to set aside corporate secrecy, he said.

“Every ACM member has a competitor in the room with similar capabilities, yet we’re all very open because we know there’s enough business to go around in Connecticut,” DiPentima said, adding that it’s a learning experience for some businesses.

“They had to get used to it,” he said. “They couldn’t be a company that says, ‘I won’t share my stuff but I want to see everybody’s else’s stuff.”

That attitude is still common in the marine technology industry, says DiPentima, whose company also manufactures submarine components. It’s partly why two previous attempts to form a supply chain network — in 1999 and in 2015 — both failed.

Max McIntyre, president of ACM, echoed DiPentima’s praise of the organization’s open culture.

“We all have a vested interest to make sure everyone’s successful because if one’s sick, it’s going to catch,” said McIntyre, vice president of New England Airfoil Products in Farmington. “If everybody’s healthy, that’s a good thing and there’s plenty of work to go around.”

Gary Slater / AP

The submarine USS Illinois travels along the Thames River after departing General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton for initial sea trials in 2016.

The submarine USS Illinois travels along the Thames River after departing General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton for initial sea trials in 2016. (Gary Slater / AP)

Missing The Mark

Secrecy alone is not to blame. In Connecticut, aerospace component manufacturers benefit from belonging to a far larger industry than the undersea field.

In 2016, the country’s aeronautics industry saw $342.7 billion in sales, compared to $52.5 billion in land and sea defense systems, according to an Aerospace Industries Association report.

Aerospace end users like Boeing also employed far more people, 547,000, than land and sea end users like General Dynamics, which accounted for 140,900 jobs..

In aerospace and defense overall, Connecticut competes well on the national stage. The state industry saw $27.3 billion in annual sales in 2015, the fifth highest in the country, according to an Aerospace Industries Association report. Connecticut was also the No. 5 state for aerospace and defense exports, at $6 billion.

That’s half of the state’s total foreign trade, a share beaten only by Washington state.

So why then doesn’t the state’s undersea industry have similar success?

Connecticut has more undersea parts suppliers than any other state, but those 446 undersea supply-chain companies get just a fraction of the country’s total funding, according to a 2016 report by the Submarine Industry Base Council.

With $514 million in purchase awards, Connecticut had the 10th highest figure in the country, the report said. Over the same period, California’s 218 suppliers got a combined $6.5 billion and Virginia’s 306 suppliers received $2 billion.

Rhode Island, which also has Electric Boat facilities, seems to have the same problem, with about 5 percent of the country’s submarine part suppliers but a meager 0.6 percent of their total purchase awards.

Luis Lluberes, the council’s regional leader in Connecticut, said the discrepancy comes from what the companies are manufacturing.

“Connecticut is supplying a lot of components that are low value, as opposed to other states that are supplying a few items that are high value,” said Lluberes, who is also president of Prime Technology, an undersea components manufacturer in North Branford. “Think in terms of the value of a nuclear reactor vs. the value of a valve, and you immediately realize why the difference.”

Patrick Raycraft / Hartford Courant

Mark Brown, a welder employed by Collins & Jewell Co. Inc., works on the shop floor of the Bozrah company in March. Collins & Jewell is a steel fabrication and industrial installation company that is an Electric Boat supplier.

Mark Brown, a welder employed by Collins & Jewell Co. Inc., works on the shop floor of the Bozrah company in March. Collins & Jewell is a steel fabrication and industrial installation company that is an Electric Boat supplier. (Patrick Raycraft / Hartford Courant)

Turning The Tide

The consortium is one of several efforts underway by the Thames River Innovation Place, which will receive up to $900,000 from the state next year.

The transformation is centered in Groton and New London, where Electric Boat has several facilities, and McBride and Bronk said the consortium should help the Naval contractor maintain its record of winning federal jobs.

But the effort is happening mostly independent of Electric Boat. Industry members say that’s because growth needs to happen from the bottom up.

“We’ve been fairly comfortable just allowing these larger industrial employers to handle and provide for our tax base,” Bronk said. “The downside is it doesn't allow us to diversify and it doesn't allow us to grow beyond what those companies can provide.”

She said it’s particularly exciting that ThayerMahan upgraded its tiny Mystic office to a large workspace in Groton this fall.

The company has $2.5 million in active contracts and is looking triple its staff from 6 to 18 people this year, primarily with engineers.

The consortium could make filling those kind of highly skilled jobs much easier in the future. The network plans to work closely with UConn and other local colleges to create training programs driven by the industry’s specific and changing needs.

UConn’s commitment to the undersea field already can be seen in the new National Institute of Undersea Vehicle Technology, which launched at Avery Point in November. It’s a collaboration with the University of Rhode Island and Electric Boat to develop the workforce of the next-generation submarine fleet and accelerate new research and development.

But there are more partnerships already in place in the aerospace field, says Mike Accorsi, the senior associate dean of engineering at UConn.

“We’re not quite as familiar with the Naval sector but we see the opportunities,” Accorsi said. “Let’s get into high tech stuff that’s going to generate more money here, generate more jobs.”

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